Soceress' Boy
by Leonharte
Summary: Leon has a secret identity, one which he will either save or destroy the world with. WARNING YuriYaoi SquallZell, QuistisSelphie, XuNida, SeiferRinoa, LexOCKellyOC, LeonOCChristyOC[DISCONTINUED]
1. CHAPTER 1

An application form arrived in the mail. A general Garden Academy application form, to join as a recruit in one of their vast academies. Leon didn't know whether to fill it out or not. This was a chance, a chance to go somewhere, be someone. It would be tough. Leon filled it out anyway, even if he decided not to go later. A chance to meet the great Squall Leonhart, whom he was named after. Leon Yue, a delivery boy in Balamb. Fifteen years old, with almost no education, offered a chance to be great. Leon excelled in one thing, his ability to fight. Whether with guns, swords, or his own body, Leon could fight, and well. His pride and joy was a set of Silver Triple Barrel, or STB pistols. Their aim was exceptional. Leon also had two fighting daggers, equipped on belts just above his ankles. Training with them was fun enough, but all he wanted was to try his grandfather's sword and gun again.

A magnum .537, and a beautiful sword, called the Slayer Blade, vanquisher of evil. The handle was silver, shaped as a dragon, the hilt like wings. Leon placed the form on his desk before turning out the lights and falling asleep.

He was woken up early by his mother, who told him to get dressed quickly and hurry downstairs. Leon dressed, long black pants, boots, black tank top, and long black duster. His daggers he buckled under his pants on his boots, and slipped his gun holsters under his jacket on belts that crossed his chest and hooked onto his main belt. They rested on his rib cage, loaded. Leon stuffed extra ammo, a torch and some rope into his pockets, and then, on a second note, grabbed his application form for Garden.

Leon gasped as he reached the bottom of the stairs. His grandfather was sitting in a chair, bleeding heavily. Leon covered his nose to stop the smell getting to him, but it couldn't stop the fact that his grandfather was dying. Leon stepped closer, taking a look at the wounds that were killing his grandfather. Three long gashes across his chest, not exactly gushing blood, but steady pumping which was getting slower. Around the edges of these cuts were burn marks, black skin, all blistered. Leon looked closer. At his neck were marks, circles with a dot in the centre, burnt into his skin. There were also gunshots, in his shoulder, leg, and stomach. So, a person and a monster. A guy, or girl, with two different guns. What looked like a .22 and a .537.

Leon touched his mother's shoulder.

"I'm going to check it out. Grandda's place, I mean," he left, into the cold night, and ran all the way to his grandfather's house. Leaping the fence, he was careful not to disturb the footprints in the dust. There was also blood, where his grandfather had dragged himself down the street and around the corner to Leon's house. Leon drew and cocked a gun, in case their enemy was still lurking. He entered slowly, barly breathing. Blood was everywhere, glass was smashed. Then Leon saw it. The hideous thing that had killed his father. It was part monster, part human. The monster had a wide, gaping mouth full of teeth, and lots of tentacles. Leon knew what it was called, and it accounted for the burns and gashes. 'Marlboro,' Leon thought. The human part, Leon was almost sick looking at it. An arm here, a leg there. The face was distorted, stretched. It was defintely dead. The Slayer Sword had made sure of that, thrusted right through the thing, into the floor. On the floor was the .537. Leon uncocked it, and checked the ammo. Two shots were left. Well, now .537 holes were accounted for. Then the .22... there it was, an integrated gun on an arm of the man. Leon checked, the bullets were gone.

Leon leaned back to think. The radio was on, old music playing. His grandfather must have been listening when he was attacked. Fired at, as he jumped off his chair, as there was, as Leon investigated, a bullet in the lining of the chair. A small amount of blood on the carpet between the impaled monster and the chair. The monster must have grabbed the .537 before firing the .22, as the gun rested in the hallway, before the living room. His grandfather must have grabbed the sword of the wall, there was no dent or scratch in the polished wood shield that was the mount for the Slayer. The .22 was useless by the time his grandfather reached the monster. The sword was stabbed down, and the .537 had been fired, as the monster died. That explained the trail of .537 holes leading down the body. 'Grandfather left, stumbled here,' Leon followed the trail of blood, right back to their own house.

His mother was crying, his grandfather dead. He hugged her once, whispered to her, and left. He scribbled a note, slipped it under next door's door, and went to his grandfather's house. Leon took of his jacket, and rearranged his belts. His triple barrels on his thighs, hanging by belts attached to his main belt. The daggers still of his boots. The .537 hung on his left rib, accesible with a cross-draw movement. The sword, cleaned and in its sheath, on the second belt crossing his chest, under his jacket. Ammo stuffed in hidden pockets. Leon also pulled on his grandfather's black fingerless gloves, and brushed his messy brown hair a bit.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

My first FF8 fic in a while. Enjoy.


	2. CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2

It was a tired, scratched, bleeding teenager Balamb Garden saw enter in the morning, application form in his hand. Mrs Trepe led him to the hospital wing, after placing the form carefully on the desk. The boy removed his jacket, boots and weapons, and slowly lay on the hard hospital bed.

"Leon Yue, fifteen years old. He's the one, Quisty. He doesn't know it, but he's the one," Mrs Trepe, the excitable Selphie, told the doctor. The famous Quistis Trepe turned to her wife.

"Maybe, maybe not. Rinoa's skills aren't exactly reliable, you know," she said, trying to down-play Selphie's excitement. She looked across at the young boy, all in black, lying there.

"He's so young. I thought he would be older," Quistis said. At that moment, Rinoa came running in.

"I felt him, Quistis! I felt him coming!" she looked across at Leon. "Oh, the poor dear. He's so young," Selphie rolled her eyes. Quistis shot her a warning look as Rinoa knelt by the young boy. After a minute, she stood up, looking a little fazed. She nodded.

"Yep, he's the one. The Soceress' Boy," Rinoa said proudly. Quistis shushed her, looking alarmed. They didn't want anyone to know, and the hospital wing walls weren't exactly sound proof.

"Sorry," Rinoa said in a whisper. "So, when do we tell him?"

"We don't. Squall does," Quistis said, with warning in her voice. Rinoa looked disappointed.

It was a full two days before Leon was well enough to have a chat with Squall Leonhart. He was excited, nervous, and a little apprehensive. Rinoa and Selphie came down to act as a guard for him. Quistis stayed in the hospital wing. They boarded the elevator, and stepped out. A blonde haired guard stood at the door, resting easy on his gunblade. He nodded, stepped aside, and let the three of them in. Selphie stood easy inside the door, while Rinoa stood by the desk. Leon sat in a chair in front of Squall's desk. The chair behind it was turned away.

The brown haired man in it stood with a sigh. He was wearing black pants and a black bomber jacket with a feathered collar. He walked to the large window that was one wall.

"I assume you know where you are," his voice was harsh, with a hint of sadness and wisdom. "Balamb Garden, established by your grandparents, Matron, otherwise known as Edea, may she rest in peace, and the newly dead Cid. A good man, but good men are corruptable. He made a bet with power, and was responsible for his own death," Squall turned, and looked into Leon's eyes. Leon thought he was prepared to meet his hero, but he hadn't expected... this. A deep, bitter sadness in those dark blue eyes. The scar, that famous scar, barely there anymore. Squall looked like he hadn't shaved in a while.

"This is a good sword, one of a series produced. This, the Slayer, is welcome to the name," Squall said, flipping the sword in his hand. "We had hoped that we would have you earlier, at least a generation earlier, when you were our age when... well, you weren't, Matron had a daughter. We hoped that fate wouldn't send you the title it has, but it has," Squall placed the sword on his desk and sat down.

"You are the Soceress' Boy, the first male born in the line of a Soceress. Of course, Rinoa here is the last soceress left, but, there is a legend that says the first male born in a Soceress' line will have powers unimaginable. That's you. We sent the application form to look after your power, teach you how to use it for good. Now, you're here, and I officially welcome you as a student at Balamb Garden," Squall let a small smile play at his lips. "Take your sword back, and let Selphie show you to your room. Your belongings are already there.," Squall turned to Rinoa. "I want a word with you, Rinoa,"

Selphie came up behind Leon.

"Come on, I'll show you your room," she said, leading his out. They stopped outside Squall's office.

"Seifer, I'd like you to meet Leon," she said to the blonde guard. Seifer looked down at him. He was tall, taller than anyone he'd ever met. Leon could see the scar had healed as Squall's had.

"It's nice to meet you," Seifer said gruffly. Selphie took Leon on a quick tour, then took his to a room.

"Usually you have a shared room until you graduate to SeeD, but we don't have any more twin shares. Think of yourself as lucky," Selphie opened the door to let Leon into the small room, and threw him some keys.

"Someone will come around later for you to decide your training course. Until then, have fun," she waved and closed the door. Leon sat on the bed, bewildered at all that had happened.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author's Notes 

Leon's entrance into Balamb. More than half of our original cast have been introduced, and, well, the plot thickens. Made this my own.

Copyright Leonharte © 2004


	3. CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3

Upstairs, Squall and Rinoa were talking.

"You have to train him privately. We don't want anyone knowing about this!" Squall said through gritted teeth. As usual, Rinoa was arguing.

"He'll be fine in a class! Anyway, people are going to note his disappearance! And Cid's death! The police are going crazy about it, they can't understand what happened because he took the evidence!" Rinoa almost yelled.

"Make a statement to the press. The SeeDs have it covered. Our detective squad will fix it up. Let him have the weapons. Private tutoring _until_ we can uncover his identity. We want to keep him safe. You know that, thing, went after Cid for information to Yue's whereabouts, and," Squall's mind was racing. The door opened.

"Commander, the chick-, I mean, Dincht is here," Seifer announced.

"Call me Squall, Seifer. Send him up," Seifer nodded, and Zell walked into the room.

"You called me, Squall?" Zell asked. He wore black shorts and a white tank top, showing off the tatoos on his arms and legs.

"Yeah. We have a new student, the Soceress' Boy," Squall told him.

"So, you want a training schedule for him? You know I do enough at the start of the year," Zell complained.

"It's just one student. Get Selphie to help if you want. Now, he'll need," Squall began to explain what Leon would be needing, as Rinoa slipped out the door to talk to Seifer.

"It's so hard, Seifer. I can barely handle my own powers, and now I have to teach!?" Rinoa was almost in tears.

"The Commander knows what's best," Seifer answered. "If you ever need help, come to me. Even if you want to just talk, I'll be here for you,"  
"I know, Seifer, I know. I never imagined we'd be the last two to be single in the group. Squall and Zell, Irvine and his wife Rei, Quistis and Selphie. Years ago, I dreamed of marrying you and settling down happily and," she stopped at the look on Seifer's face. "You don't remember anything before the time compression, huh?"

Seifer shook his head. "Memories are all gone. It's hard, ya know? Things are coming back," he said brightly. "Like, I remember Matron, and parts of my time with you guys and Edea,"

Rinoa nodded, remembering the way he had almost called Zell 'chicken' again. "Don't worry, Seifer, it'll eventually come back to you," she said reassuringly. He smiled and nodded at her.

Zell met Leon a short time afterwards.

"Selphie enroled you, now, for your classes. I recommend GF1, 'Introduction to Guardian Forces,' W1, 'Introduction to Weaponry,' a class for your chosen weapon, F1, 'Field and Navigation,' and C1, 'Introduction to Leadership.' Then there's english, maths and SeeD preps, which are exercises. And of course, your magic class. Rinoa will be teaching this. Its a private lesson two times a week," Zell talked fast and Leon had trouble keeping up with him. "Now, each class is a semester long, so GF1 will become GF2, 'Guardian Force Abilities,' and so on. Three years and good marks recommend you to becoming a SeeD. Pass that, and you're assigned a rank. Commander is the highest, Corporal the lowest. In war situations, Corporals take charge of groups of students. The Commander leads the whole Garden in action. You got that?"

"Yeah, no problem. So, when do I start?" Leon asked. Zell looked thoughtfully at Leon's weapons, guns and blades.

"How about I take you down to Instructor Kinneas? He'll test your skill with those weapons?" Zell asked. Leon nodded.

Irvine Kinneas was the main weapon teacher in Balamb. He looked over Leon's weapons, ran him through some exercises, and declared him fit for T2, 'Weapons Training 2.'

"Zell, the boy's good. He really is the Soceress' Boy," Irvine confided in Zell afterwards.

"I know. Rinoa's taking his magic class, you got him both weapons classes. I get to teach him GFs. And Seifer's taking field and nav. And Nida's agreed to have him in his leadership class. Squall wanted us to keep an eye on him. Rei's also getting him for her english class, so can you tell her?" Zell asked.

"Of course. No problem there. Rei won't mind an extra student. And I suppose Xu has him for maths?" Irvine asked.

"Uh, with a bit of push by Quistis. Xu'll do anything for her," Zell told him.

"It's all covered then! I can't wait to be teaching him," Irvine exclaimed.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author's Notes

The part between Seifer and Rinoa was fun to write. It examines Rinoa and Seifer's relationship, and how Seifer is after the Time Compression. Also note Rinoa and how she reacts around Squall, touchy subject. The name 'Rei' has to be credited off Sailor Moon, as does her appearance somewhat. I put together Balamb as a school, course names and the like. 'Behind-the-scenes' stuff I thought would be fitting.

Any Q's so far, email 

Copyright Leonharte © 2004


	4. CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 4

Three years passed quickly. Leon grew taller and filled out. He worked hard to become top of his classes, and learnt his true identity. At first it was a shock to know he had dark power within him, but with Rinoa's help he mastered it. Then came the SeeD exam. Leon was assigned to a group of four, and he was chosen as group leader. Seifer was with Leon as the other members arrived. The first was a blonde haired boy called Cloud. His hair was spiked out in all directions, and his uniform was worn casually. He greeted Leon and Seifer with a wave. Another boy strolled up. His silver hair was spiked, and he introduced himself as Vash. Their weapons were ready for battle, Cloud with a giant broadsword Leon doubted he himself couldn't even lift, and Vash with a twin bladed gunblade. The last member was female, with messy black hair and blue eyes. She had a 'so-not-interested' look on her face. Her weapons were two guns.

"Alright, team, listen up! I haven't got long, I've got to get ready! Your 'job' is to escort 'civilians' out of the quad to the safety checkpoint outside Garden. The story is the Garden has beed ambushed by an enemy army, the SeeDs will be acting as the enemy, and you guys have to get out civies, attack the enemy, defend base, stop ambushes, and, if one of the teams do their job properly, the enemy base will be infiltrated and the army stopped," Seifer told them, reading off the sheet he was given.

"As team 11, your main objective is to escort three civilians out of Garden and into the entrance of Fire Cavern. Then you will join with team 5 and be on the attack for the enemy's base," his watch started beeping and he looked at it. "I'm late! Gotta run! Good luck!" he ran off, trying to find Squall and the others to prepare.

"So, man, you're the leader?" Vash asked. "Come on, man, lead us!"

"We have to wa," Leon started, but a bell cut him off. "That's the signal, let's hurry to the quad!" He started to run, and the others followed him. Reaching the quad, he found Quistis, Selphie and a young boy waiting. Selphie looked impatient.

"Our mission is to escort you all to a safe place out of Garden," Leon recited as he had been taught. "Please follow us,"

"No, I'm staying here!" Selphie said, trying to remember her lines correctly. "Garden is my life, there's no way I'm leaving!" she pouted.

"Please, ma'am, if you value your safety you will follow us. We guarantee you will be returned home once the attack is over," Leon said, trying to stay cool. Leon then noticed the female talking to the young boy. He had an excited but a fearful face.

"Mummy, Daddy, we have to go! There are MONSTERS!" he yelled. Quistis blushed at this, and Selphie grinned. Leon tried not to smile at the female's wit.

"Yes, there are monsters, and enemies will come. You'll be caught. Please, come with us," Leon told them again. Selphie searched her memory, trying to remember if an answer to this was in her script. Quistis saved her silence by saying, "If you think it the best course of action, we will follow you," she took the young boy's hand.

Leon put Vash in the back as a rear guard, and sent Cloud forward as a scout. They went quickly and quietly, through the back door, with Quistis taking notes on a clip board. Leon sent them to the ground as a patrol of enemies hurried past. Leon got their numbers and hurried on. They met with Cloud, who was waiting.

"Hey man, I'm getting jumpy. Can we switch?" he asked. Leon nodded, and motioned for Vash to come up.

"Every hundred metres, stop. Okay, Cloud, rear guard," he hurried back, keeping low. They moved on, keeping in a valley. There was two brief skirmishes which Leon won easily with the mysterious female by his side. Eventually they reached the Cavern. Quistis sat down by a tree, telling Leon his next set of instructions. "Wait here for team 5 to show up. But keep alert, enemies are around,"

Leon nodded. Selphie sat down with Quistis, and the boy pulled out a radio to radio headquaters. Leon realised that he didn't know his companion's name, but as he turned to ask, she smiled at him.

"Name's Kelly. You looked pretty good back there," she started to reload her guns. Leon reloaded the .537 as they waited. Three black covered people emerged from the undergrowth. Leon immediately cocked his weapon as the leader made the sign for 'peace.'

"Team 5 reporting for duty," the leader saluted. "Our orders are to follow the team 11 leader," the leader said and pulled off the black headgear. Leon was suprised to see it was girl, with brown hair sticking everywhere and green eyes. "I'm Lex," she introduced her team, a boy with long black hair called Zak, and another boy with lots of piercings nicknamed Spike for his black haired that was indeed spiked with bright red tips. Leon introduced him team, waved to Quistis and Selphie, who were to preoccupied to see, and moved on.

They slowly crawled towards the base, Leon in the lead and Lex at the rear. Spike and Vash were scouting. Eventually they reached the enemy's flag which served as base. There was a switch they had to pull to sound the 'end game' bell. The switch was guarded by two soldiers. Leon had his team surround the switch, watching the guard's rounds. After noting how they moved, he planned his run carefully. With a burst of speed, he jumped at the switch, pulled it down, and a shrill ring went up. The two soldiers walked up to Leon, who was signalling for his teams to come in.

"Well done, Leon," Squall said, pulling off his headgear. "Game over, you won, let's go back to Garden,"


	5. CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 5

An hour later the showered cadets were standing in front of the Commander's office. Leon was talking to his new friends, the combined team 11 and 5. Spike, Zak, Vash and Cloud got on really well, messing around with each other. Lex and Kelly seemed to know each other already.They were dressed in civies, waiting for the announcement of who was now a SeeD. Seifer came out to announce it.

"Yue, Leon. James, Alex. Strife, Cloud. Marsters, William. Highwind, Zak. Trigun, Vash. Zidane, Kelly. Harte, Matt. Kyle, Tai. That is all," Seifer went back inside Squall's office. The nine cadets followed him in, and stood in a line. Squall went to each of them, shaking their hands and congratulating them.

"Leon, what can I say? Well done. We all knew you'd do well,"

"Alex, please, don't make a show tonight. Nice job,"

"Cloud, your attitude is perfect for a SeeD. Keep up the work,"  
"William, or, Spike, is it? Never seen a SeeD with so much piercings,"

"Zak. Amazing field and navigational skills today,"

"Vash, first SeeD with a gunblade since I was promoted. Glad to have you,"

"Kelly, many doubted you but you pulled through in the end,"  
"Matt, amazing martial skills today. You take after Zell on all aspects,"

"Tai, incredible ninja work today. Assasination is defintely a look-in for you,"

"Well done to all of you. Now, if you will get changed into you SeeD uniforms and meet in our celebration hall for our annual end-of-year SeeD party before Christmas," he turned away as the new SeeDs filed out. Seifer walked up to Squall after closing the door.

"Um, Commander, I have a favour to ask," Seifer started, but Squall cut him off.

"You and Rinoa, even though you're not SeeDs, are invited as special guests. You'll find a SeeD uniform in your size has been delivered to your room," Squall said with a smile.

"Thank you... Squall," Seifer said, and walked off.

Leon dressed quickly in the green military uniform and boots that was the SeeD uniform. There was a knock on the door and Leon opened it to let in Vash, Cloud, Zak and Spike, all in uniform. They had decided to go together. They hurried off to the celebration hall, to begin the SeeD party.

"Oh, for Hyne's sake, Selph. We're going to be late!" Quistis sighed, exasperated, as Selphie fixed her hair for the tenth time. She turned to Quistis, finally satisfied that her hair was perfect.

"Okay, let's go," Selphie said, kissing Quistis lightly and opening the door. Quistis went to touch Selphie's hair, but Selphie growled, "Not the hair," and she settled for draping an arm around Selphie's waist.

"You look good tonight," Zell said, waiting for Squall to tie his boots. "Then again, you always look good,"

"And so do you," he took Zell's arm, "let's go to this thing,"

"Okay, but it's _my_ turn to lead," Zell said, repositioning his arm and giving Squall a quick kiss.

"That's what you think," Squall responded as they left the room.

"I hate this uniform," Rei complained to Irvine.

"Heh, I love you in that uniform," Irvine replied, wishing he could have his cowboy hat on tonight, but Squall had forbidden it. He looked at his watch. "We'd better go if we're going to make the opening,"

Rei came out of the bathroom and walked to Irvine, who was sitting on the bed. He stood and took her arm.

"Its only for a couple of hours, then we can come back here," Irvine said with a grin.

"I can't wait," Rei said with an even cheekier grin than Irvine.

Rinoa was getting ready, adjusting the SeeD uniform Selphie had lended her, when there was a slight knock on the door. Rinoa opened it to find Seifer, dressed in SeeD uniform.

"Hey Rinoa. I was wondering, do you have anyone to go with? If you don't, do you, I don't know, wanna go with me?" he stuttered. Rinoa smiled to see Seifer so flustered.

"The Seifer I knew would never have knocked so lightly and whispered," Rinoa told him. "Seifer would have knocked down the door, barged in, picked me up off my feet, and take me to wherever he had to be,"

"Should I do it again?" Seifer asked her.

"No. I prefer the new Seifer over the old Seifer any day," Rinoa said, closing the door and letting Seifer lead her out.

The four couples met together near the bar. Quistis held Selphie close, drink in one hand and the other around Selphie's waist. Selphie snuggled into Quistis' shoulder, enjoying being close to her and waiting a little impatiently for the party to end so she could be alone with her beautiful Quistis.

Squall had a casual hand around Zell's shoulders, projecting ownership to the people passing. Zell was full of smiles, playing with Squall's hair and clothes. They made a strange couple, Squall tall and dark, hardly talking, and Zell stocky but muscular, bright eyes and light hair, almost jumping up and down with energy.

Rei kept her hand on Irvine's chest and her head on his shoulder. Irvine held her to him, with a drink in his free hand. His hair was long and in a tight ponytail that came around over his shoulder. Her black hair shone red in the light, and was loose on her back. Every so often Irvine would be looking elsewhere, and Rei would give him a kick, and he'd turn back and whisper, "I love you and no one else,"

Seifer and Rinoa stood self-conciously, with a little distance between them, talking to Quistis and Selphie. Seifer was still not sure how to act, and settled for a refined but arrogant composure that came off a little too soft and didn't really work for him. Rinoa tried to settle him down and get him to be natural, knowing it was hard for him to relax.

Leon took a sip of his drink, talking with Vash and Spike. Cloud and Zak were by the bar, trying to pick up girls for a dance. Matt, another new SeeD, came by to congratulate Leon on winning the game. Lex and Kelly also came by, Lex with her arm around Kelly's shoulder. Cloud and Zak, over at the bar, were staring at the two of them.

"Leon, this is just a cover-up so we don't have to dance with those two idiots over there," Lex explained, but Leon thought differently when he saw how Kelly was looking at Lex.

Leon talked to a couple of people he knew, finally wandering over to where Squall and his friends were.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Leon?" Irvine asked politely.

"I am, Instructor," Leon replied.

"That's good. I remember my first SeeD party. Not as extravagant as this, but certainly special," Irvine said, reminiscing on the past.

"Also the first time he got some," Selphie winked.

"I also remember it was your first time after your first SeeD party," Quistis said with a grin.

"Heh, you weren't 'da bomb' then Quist, but you're getting better," Selphie shot back. Quistis blushed. Everyone laughed. Rinoa looked at Leon, and said seriously, "So who you going with tonight, as is SeeD trad?"

Leon shook his head. "No one right now,"

They all laughed. Squall was slightly surprised to see that Leon was as tall as him, they could look eye to eye.

"You've grown a lot, Leon. When I first met you you were a little shrimp," Squall said.

"Yeah, you've defintely shot up in your time here," Rei agreed. Leon nodded. A song started playing, and Squall led Zell out onto the dance floor, to start the dancing for the night. Slowly the floor filled and Leon was left standing with another instructor, Xu.

"I've been an instructor for as long as I can remember. I used to be first mate of Commander Squall and Garden, but I've sort of slipped. Quistis and that Selphie are now Squall's right-hand instructors," Xu made a face at Selphie's name. "I was Quistis' girl, and she belonged to me, until she met Selphie. She broke up with me shortly before Selphie's first SeeD party, and it was Selphie enjoying Quistis that night when I was left alone," Xu sighed. "You're probably wondering why I'm telling you this,"  
"Yeah, I am," Leon agreed.

"Don't get involved with someone unless you know you love them, and they love you," Xu walked away.

"Come dance, Leon!" Lex called, waving at him from the floor. Leon drained his drink, set the glass down, and went out to join Lex and Kelly. The other four boys were dancing with other girls. After spending some time with the two girls, someone tapped Leon on the shoulder. He turned, and looked into the face of a stranger.

"Hey, do I know you?" Leon asked.

"You should. We grew up together in Balamb," she answered. "I'm Christy,"

"Christy? Oh, I remember! We went to school together," Leon replied, remembering her.

"I can't believe you're a SeeD now! You used to be so scrawny. You've filled out a lot," Christy told him.

"I know. You wanna dance?" Leon asked, offering his hand. She took it, and they danced together. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a stylish ponytail, and her blue eyes offered depth and warmth to Leon. After their dance, Christy went to talk to someone else, and Leon felt a little disappointed. He looked around. Quistis was dancing with Rinoa, with Selphie looking very annoyed nearby. Seifer was talking to Squall and Zell. Rei and Irvine were talking alone.


End file.
